The average asking price for a property in England and Wales has fallen 0.8 per cent so far this month to £270,159, according to the latest index from Rightmove.

The property website says the North and East Midlands have had the biggest drops in asking prices so far in July, but London also experienced falls, including areas such as Wandsworth and Islington with values down nearly four per cent.

However, despite the slight blip, Rightmove predicts values will be eight per cent higher by year end hitting the top end of its original 2014 forecast of between six and eight per cent. Since January, Rightmove says prices are up 6.5 per cent overall.

Monthly falls: Most regions have seen prices drop this month, although most are up year-on-year

It believes a strong combination of Help to Buy for first-time buyers, more affluent third-time buyers in the market and faster selling times will result in prices gaining larger growth before 2015.

The number of properties coming to market has increased by nearly 10 per cent year-to-date compared with 2013 according to Rightmove, but it warns the UK suffers from a structural deficit in housing stock, with the more popular areas still having an excess of demand compared to supply.

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Its prediction of a continuing price growth comes despite measures introduced by the Bank of England last month to curb prices such as new caps on high loan-to-income value loans and stronger affordability ‘stress test’ for borrowers in the form of the Mortgage Market Review.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: ‘A price fall in July is not unexpected as prospective buyers turn their attention to the summer holidays, not to mention the added distraction of an engaging World Cup.

‘Buyer confidence may also have taken a knock with suggestions that mortgages are becoming harder to get and repayments may get more costly sooner than originally anticipated should the rumours of an interest rate rise before the next election come true.’

Drop off: This month was the first in 2014 to see a blip in asking price growth

Rightmove said speeding up of housing completions, down 10 days year-on-year to 65 days had also brought more sellers into the market.

The housing website added the London ripple effect, which pushes up the prices of properties around the capital, continued unabated because of the shortage of suitable housing stock.

The firm added it was seeing the beginnings of the same London ripple effect around large northern cities such as Manchester, Leeds, York and Liverpool.

It added that July had seen house price falls in six of the previous 10 years.

Mr Shipside said: ‘Market conditions still compare favourably with this time last year, with growth in both the economy and employment, plus a comparative thaw in mortgage availability.’

Last week, the Office for National Statistics said house prices in London had risen at a record annual rate of 20.1 per cent while they were up 10.5 per cent across the UK.